By the Editor

This news comes from the International Brain Education Association (IBREA), who hosted a panel on poverty and welfare at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on January 12, 2012.

After a brief introduction, four panelists spoke on eradicating poverty and promoting equality, which is the 2012 UN ECOSOC agenda.

The first was UNDP’s (United Nations Development Program) chief economist for Latin America, George Molina, who shared that one third of the world’s population lives in poverty and 25,000 people in the world are dying from hunger everyday. The United Nations is actively fighting poverty in 171 countries, however, the number of economically struggling countries has increased. He demonstrated that economic development does not necessarily mean social development. To combat this statistic, he emphasized the importance of social development so that food can reach those who need it.

The second panelist was New York University Professor Joseph Ledoux, author of Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are, and

The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life. Professor Ledoux spoke about how emotional functions work in the brain and how to regulate them. He showed how our emotions affect our thoughts more than our thoughts can control our emotions. He emphasized th importance of early education in preventing severe stress that can lead to fear and anxiety. He told how simple breathing and meditation is helpful for releasing stress.

The next panelist was Ilchi Lee, who is president and founder of IBREA. He expressed that the great latent potential and value of the human brain are demonstrated to the fullest when we give our effort so that all people can be happy together. He taught the participants simple exercises to release stress and guided them

in giving each other massage to relieve their stiff shoulders. He also mentioned that 58 heads of state will change in 2012, and that 2012 is a very important year. Ilchi Lee gave all the participants his proposal for human peace and welfare, and the recovery of the earth’s natural environment.

The final speaker was Dan G. Pavel, MD, Director of PathFinder Brain SPECT (Single-photon Emission Computed Tomography) at the Neuroscience Center in Deerfield, Illinois. He presented a study on the effects of Brain Wave Vibration as measured through Brain SPECT technology.

Eighteen UN representatives from different countries attended the conference, as well as UN agencies such as UNDP and UNESCO. The event were covered by MBC Broadcasting (a major South Korean television station), Korean TV, and South South News of the UN.